Where Are They Now?

Posted February 26th, 2018 by stateofficer.

Here at Delaware TSA we are excited to announce a new project that your state officer team has been working on, named “Where Are They Now?”. Working on “Where Are They Now?”, our aim was to reconnect with our alumni and update our information on where they are now in their lives. The team filed through old contacts, found emails, and reached out to a number of alumni of Delaware TSA that impacted our organization and grew from their experiences in TSA.

We hope that this inspires you to become more involved with TSA, learn about the real-life applications of technical skills, and think about how TSA will have impacted your own life as you grow.

Pratyusha Gupta

I joined TSA in the 7th grade and remained an active member at the local, state and national levels until I graduated from high school. After serving in a variety of chapter-level leadership positions in middle school, I went on to serve as Delaware State Secretary and President as well as National Secretary and President. While serving TSA in these various leadership capacities, I also remained an active competitor in a number of events – Webmaster and Future Technology Teacher were two of my favorites. I enjoyed every aspect of the organization, from competitions to community service, and credit TSA with helping me to develop many of the professional and technical skills that remain important to me until today.

After leaving graduating high school and leaving TSA, I attended the University of Pennsylvania in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology. I received a degree in Finance from the Wharton School of Business and a degree in Computer Science from the School of Engineering. Penn was the most challenging experience of my life, but I believe that the wide range of soft and hard skills I developed in TSA (written and verbal presentation, leadership, creativity, computer programming) helped me to succeed in my time there. These skills combined with domain-specific knowledge that I gathered at Penn helped me get the job that I have today – an analyst at a distressed debt hedge fund. Currently, I work for Silver Point Capital, a distressed debt and special situations focused hedge fund, as an analyst.

The last time I posted on the Delaware TSA state website as an alum, I was a freshman at Penn. Since then, almost five years have passed and many things have changed. I switched my engineering major from Materials Science to Computer Science as I realized that programming and product development was a more tangible way for me to apply my engineering skillset. I further refined my career trajectory and realized that I wanted to work in finance, helping to make optimal investment decisions. To this end, I entered the workforce as an analyst at a distressed debt hedge fund, a unique role that gives me experience in navigating some of the toughest bankruptcies of today.

TSA has had a profound impact on my life. It was one of my top priorities and uses of time throughout middle school and high school. Not only did it introduce me to friends and mentors that I remain in touch with today, it also helped to teach me to apply some of the concepts that I learned in the classroom. The events and leadership opportunities both helped to expand my horizons and expose me to experiences that I normally would not have gotten at such a young age (creating portfolios, leading meetings, learning Robert’s Rules of Order).

More concretely, my participation in TSA was a big selling point for college admissions – it to make me a more dynamic candidate and I discussed the importance of the organization to my life in several of my essays. TSA also introduced me to computer programming, which I utilized throughout college in my studies. Overall, TSA has been the single most impactful organization to my life and I hope to continue giving back as an alum.

Monideepa Chatterjee

When I joined TSA as a high school sophomore, I had no idea that the skills learned and friendships formed would last for years to come. My favorite events were Debating Technological Issues and Manufacturing Prototype, but all events promoted skills of technical design, written communication, and oral presentation. As the State Treasurer my senior year, I also gained experience working alongside a diverse team. At the University of Delaware, I built upon these skills to receive an Honors Degree in Biomedical Engineering with Distinction, and minored in Business Administration and Bioelectrical Engineering. I am now a PhD student at Cornell University in Biomedical Engineering, where I design devices to study shoulder injury and repair. TSA also imparted a sense of philanthropy, which I continue by leading outreach initiatives to increase participation in STEM from under-represented demographics. I hope that TSA plays the same pivotal role in your life and career as it did in mine.

Peter Andrews

My time in TSA started with competitive events. I remember participating in a pretty wide range of events, with the highlight being middle school Video Challenge — a project that won 1st Place at Nationals. (Shout out to Chris, Isaac, and Tyler on that one.) I was a Delaware state officer for two years, including state president for one year. I also spent two years as a national officer. The highlight of my time in TSA was being elected as National President at the 2009 National Conference in Denver, Colorado.

After I left TSA, I went to Columbia University, graduating with a B.A. in History in 2014. After working for a year, I started law school at the University of California, Berkeley. I anticipate graduating in May 2018 with a J.D., and will be clerking for a federal judge for two years after law school. In a neat echo of my time in TSA, the clerkship is located in Denver, Colorado.

I credit TSA for deeply influencing the person I am today. TSA introduced me to so many people from all over the country, exposing me to perspectives that still shape my life. TSA taught me about leadership and professionalism, helping me become a better teammate and friend. And TSA gave me a taste of many different STEM fields — and while I did not go into a STEM career, that exposure has made me a more well-rounded thinker and citizen.

Emily Wong

TSA played a large part in molding my academic career prior to college. For six years, I looked forward to competing in events such as chapter team, digital video production, video game challenge, system control technology, fashion design, flight, and model rocketry. Many hours were spent afterschool with friends and advisors in the tech ed room to plan, practice, and create for our events. Some of my closest friends are those I met through TSA, as we made tangible memories with our creations and spent late nights laughing and working to make an end product we were proud of. TSA gave me the opportunity to explore diverse fields and challenges in the growing world of technology. I continue to owe my leadership and communication skills to my early start as a state officer in TSA. Not only did it connect me with lifelong friends and mentors, I have learned a wealth of knowledge about myself through these relationships.

After high school and the end of my TSA career, I became a student at the University of Delaware. I am currently entering my final semester of college and working on a B.S. in biological sciences with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology and genetics and I have a minor in public health. Coming into college, I wanted to be an oncologist at a children’s hospital. After completing a few research internships (Christiana Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center) and conducting my own research on campus, I decided to replace my MD dreams and go for a PhD! Scientific research is where my true passion lies and 4 years ago, I would have never thought the opportunities I’ve had through UD would lead me to where I am today. Additionally, I joined an organization similar to TSA, called the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), a national organization that aims to connect collegiate and professional scientists and engineers to aid them in building their network and skillset to successful in the global workforce. As the current president of SASE at the University of Delaware, I can honestly say the leadership and communication skills I learned from TSA are still very applicable!

At this point, I am planning for my life after college—a fairly daunting, yet exciting thing to think about. For the next couple of years, I plan on working at a pharmaceutical company to increase my skillset in the lab, learn about employment in a corporate setting, and figure out exactly what I see myself doing in the field of scientific research. Afterwards, I will apply and go to graduate school to get my PhD.

Davey McGinnis

I was a member of TSA from 7th to 12th grade, and served as a state officer for three of those years. During my time with the organization, I learned the importance of empathy, hard work, leadership, and humility. TSA fostered my growth as a student more than I could ever predict, giving me the confidence and skills necessary to succeed. I will never forget my mentors: John Singer, John Brown, and Mike Fitzgerald.

I am currently a senior studying Computer Science and English at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I look forward to one day returning to the state conference to see the organization that is largely responsible for who I am today.